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United States Patent O 3,385,462 SHEET PACKING ARRANGEMENT Lon Deldime, Brussels, Andr Algrain, Uccle, and Grard Fabry, Jumet, Belgium, assignors to Glaverbel S.A., Brussels, Belgium Filed Dec. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 599,838 Claims priority, applicatiorl) (Iglxembourg, Dec. 17, 1965,

6 Claims. (l. 214-105) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Fragile sheets, such as glas-s, which are flat or curved are held safely together in a stack. Adjacent sheets are separated lby a number of resilient spacers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field f the invention 2. Description of the prior art It is known to interpose loose materials such as straw, wool liber and sawdust between sheets of glass when they are packed for transportation, or to interpose sheets of relatively soft material :such Ias paper or corrugated cardboard, but these methods ldo not prevent surface damage to the sheets which may in some cases make them useless, particularly if they are of very high quality glass or have been specially surface treated.

The aforesaid conventional packing methods are particularly unsatisfactory for packing flat sheets of different sizes, since the interposed packing material is liable to be penetrated by edges of the smaller sheets, and for packing curved sheets, for instance panoramic windshields, which may differ in profile, however slightly, and thus cannot be clamped together under uniform overall pressure without imposing stresses on the sheets.

A similar problem concerning stresses is encountered when packing double or multiple glazing units comprising two or more gla-ss sheets marginally secured together in spaced relationship, and this problem arises whether or not there is a frame which extends outwardly from the exposed sheet surface. In assembling such unit-s, stresses are imposed which sometime result in a slight curvature of the sheets in their marginal zones which make the sheets more liable to break if they are subjected to excessive local pressures when packaged. In some cases, similar problems arise when packing article-s comprising a single framed glass sheet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With this in mind, it is a main object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

Another object is to provide a packing arrangement for fragile sheets, such as glass, which protects them from damage even when they are not dat.

These objects and others ancillary thereto are in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention wherein stacked or packaged sheets or stacked or packaged 3,385,462 Patented May 28, 1968 articles comprising one or more marginally held sheets, are kept 4in mutually spaced relationship by local spacing members each of which adheres to at least one of the articles or sheets between which it is located.

The expression sheet where used herein includes a sheet laminate, e.g., a sheet of Triplex glass.

Preferably the s-pacing members are resilient; for example -they may be made of rubber or polyurethane foam. If the spacer members are resilient they allow the sheets or articles `to expand freely under the inuence of heat or other atmospheric conditions. Each member preferably adheres to both sheets or articles between which it is located. If the invention is employed in the stacking or packaging of articles comprising .a frame which stands proud of the exposed surfaces of the framed sheet or sheets, the spacer members are nevertheless preferably located between the sheets of adjacent articles.

Any method of `adhesion permitting the spacing mem- :bers -to -be easily removed from the sheets or articles without damaging them is permissible. The spacer members m-ay bear a -coating or coatings of a pressure-sensitive adhesive. Such members can be made very cheaply so that they are discardable. However, an important preferred feature of the invention resides in the use of spacer members shaped with concave faces .to function as suckers so that -they can adhere to at surfaces by air pressure alone and leave no mark when they are removed.

The invention may be employed in the stacking of sheets in a vertical or leaning position on the door of a work-room or transportation vehicle or on sti-llages or pallets, as well as in the packing of sheets in packing cases. Due to their adherence to the sheets or articles the spacing members cannot .become displaced during movement of the stack or package during transportation. Ventilating air can pass between the sheets and thus prevent the occurrence of irridescence such yas sometimes occurs due to the penetration of moisture between the sheets in conventional packages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:l

FIGURE 1 is a front view of two -double glazings held apart by local spacer members bearing adhesive coatings.

IFIGURE 2 is a partial sectional view of the double glazings taken substantially along the plane defined by reference line 2 2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of another stack according to the invention.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view on a larger scale, of one of t-he spacer members used in the stack shown in lFIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view through two panoramic windshields held in spaced relationship by means of spacer members in the form of suction members.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGURES l and 2 show two double glazings 2 separated by spacing members 3 which adhere to each of the faces with which they are in Contact. The number of spacing members used depends on the nature of the surfaces of the glass sheets and the loading weight. In general it has been `found that it is suitable to use spacing members with -square contact faces (asy 20 mm. square) and to locate such members :at intervals of about 50 cm. and at a few centimeters from the peripheries of the glazings.

The spacing members may, e.g., be pads of polyurethane having coatings of pressure-sensitive adhesive on the opposite faces which contact the glass sheets. Adhesives based on polyisobutylene and/ or polyvinylbutyral are suitable.

FIGURE 2 shows, in an exaggerated manner, at places 4, the deformations which may be found at the edges of double glazing units. Such deformations set up local pressures which may break the sheets if the glazings are not held apart.

The spacing members may be used in a similar manner for packing glazings of different length and breadth dimensions. In that case the spacing members prevent the edges of the smaller glazings from contacting and spoiling adjacent surfaces of larger sheets.

FIGURE 3 shows three sheets 5, 6, and 10 held in spaced relation by spacing members 7 each having a head portion 8 formed as a suction member, and a stern portion 9. The FIGURE shows the head portions of the suction members in unflattened condition. In the course of packing or stacking the sheets the head portions are caused to adhere to sheets and 6 by suction. The sheet 10 is located (without adhesion) between the stem portions of the spacing members attached to the neighboring sheets. A stack of `any required number of sheets may be built up in this manner. One of the spacing members is shown in section and on a larger scale in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 5 shows two panoramic windshields 11, 12 held in spaced relationship for transportation, by spacing members 13, both end portions 14, 15 of which are in the form of suction members. The windshields 11, 12 have the same general curvature, but in such articles the curvatures may not always be precisely the same. When spacing members are used in accordance with the invention, such differences in curvature will not involve risk of breakage when the sheets are stacked or packaged.

It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes, and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pack of relatively fragile sheets or articles comprising one or more marginally held sheets, the improvement comprising local spacing members adhering to at least one of the sheets or articles, at the margins thereof, and disposed between adjacent sheets or articles for maintaining them in mutually spaced relationship, each said local spacing member being associated with only one surface of any given sheet or article.

2. A pack as defined in claim 1 wherein said spacing members are resilient.

3. A pack as defined in claim 2 wherein said spacing members have adhesive coatings to cause them to adhere to the sheets.

4. A pack as deiined in claim 2 wherein said spacing members include suction members to cause them to adhere to the sheets.

5. A pack as deiined in claim 2 wherein the sheets or articles are of glass.

6. A method of forming a pack of sheets or articles comprising one or more marginally held sheets comprising the steps of: adhering local spacing members to the marginal regions of the large surface of at least one sheet or article, each such local spacing member being associated with only one surface of any given sheet or article; and stacking the at least one sheet or article with additional sheets or articles with their large surfaces adjacent to each other and separated from each other by said spacing members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,062,948 12/1936 Swank et al. 21410.5X 2,476,145 7/ 1949 Gwyn et al. 206-62 2,973,089 2/ 1961 Brichard et al. 206--62 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. THERON E. CONDON, Examiner.

I. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner. 

